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The Ohio House is expected to give final concurrence this week to a bill boosting teacher
background checks, while leaders reportedly work on a few new ideas of their own.

The Senate last week amended and approved House Bill 190, which would expand criminal background
checks to all school employees, not just teachers and counselors. It also would require that names
of teachers be run through the FBI's national database every five years.

Faced with a bill filled with new amendments, House Speaker Jon Husted initially wasn't sure
last week whether the House would go along with the crackdowns. But the Kettering Republican has
stressed the need to take action, and now House members are considering going beyond the Senate
proposals.

Rolled out in response to a
Dispatch investigation into the failures of Ohio's teacher-discipline system,
the bill also requires the state Department of Education to recommend how to punish districts that
fail to properly report misconduct and to develop a new teachers code of conduct.

In addition, it gives the department the power to revoke an expired teacher's license. Senate
leaders have said the bill is a first step toward a broader teacher-misconduct proposal likely
coming next year.

In the House, the Education Committee has held multiple hearings on the issue of teacher
misconduct. The committee chairwoman has not yet issued any recommendations, but House leaders are
kicking around a few proposals, such as:

• Automatically revoking an educator's license if convicted of certain crimes, such as rape or
child molestation.

• Requiring that school districts remove teachers from the classroom if arrested for specific
offenses, such as murder, rape or kidnapping.

• Giving the Ohio Department of Education limited access to the Law Enforcement Automated Data
System (LEADS), and providing the department with a "wrap back" service that would run daily arrest
reports on licensed educators.

Karla Carruthers, spokeswoman for the department, said the state Board of Education plans to
discuss the proposals at its meeting Monday.

"The department would like to have as many tools as possible to ensure the safety of our
children," she said.